Not Another Happy Ending to premiere at EIFF

EIFF to close the 2013 Festival with World Premiere of 'Not Another Happy Ending'

Edinburgh International Film Festival (EIFF) is proud to announce NOT ANOTHER HAPPY ENDING starring Karen Gillan and Stanley Weber (alongside Amy Manson, Iain de Caestecker, Kate Dickie, Freya Mavor, Gary Lewis and Henry Ian Cusick), as the Closing Night film of the 67th edition of the Festival.
The red carpet will be rolled out at the Edinburgh Festival Theatre on 30th June when the stars and filmmakers attend the World Premiere of this indie romantic comedy set in Glasgow.
Read more at The Fan Carpet

Also reported by STV, Screen Daily, The List, Radio Times, The Edinburgh Reporter, and many others.

Dougray Scott: 'Hemlock Grove' premiere

Bill Skarsgard and Penelope Mitchell hit the red carpet together to premiere their upcoming Netflix original series Hemlock Grove held at the Casa de la Bola on Wednesday (April 3) in Mexico City, Mexico.
The 22-year-old co-stars were joined on the carpet by their cast mates Famke Janssen, Dougray Scott, Landon Liboiron, and executive producer Eli Roth.
Be sure to catch the murder mystery series based on Brian McGreevy‘s book of the same name only on Netflix on April 19!
Read more at Just Jared

Iain de Caestecker: 'In Fear' new poster for Sundance première

New poster for UK horror film In Fear, starring The Fades’ Iain de Caestecker

 

British horror In Fear, which stars SHIELD agent Iain de Caestecker, has released a very striking new poster ahead of its première at the Sundance Film Festival (via Bloody Disgusting).

The film also stars Beautiful Creatures‘ Alice Englert and Downton Abbey‘s Allen Leech and comes from first-time director Jeremy Lovering and Big Talk Productions (who produced Scott Pilgrim Vs The World, Paul and Sightseers). De Caestecker and Englert star as a couple who get lost on winding country roads on the way to a music festival and end up in the hands of a mysterious tormentor.

Iain de Caestecker also starred in cruelly short-lived drama The Fades, which you can buy on DVD for £5.50 on Amazon.co.uk

Source (including image): SciFi Now

Karen Gillan: 'Doctor Who' season premiere at BFI

Doctor Who cast and crew to attend BFI ‘Asylum’ screening

Cult British sci-fi show Doctor Who is to get a boost for its upcoming seventh season as key cast Matt Smith, Karen Gillan and Arthur Darvill will take to the stage for a Q&A following a preview of the first episode at the British Film Institute's Southbank center.

The actors will be joined on stage next week at the event by award winning writer Steven Moffat and executive producer Caroline Skinner at the one-off event hosted by broadcaster Richard Bacon.

Series seven of Doctor Who sees Smith return as the Doctor, accompanied by his trusted companions Amy (Gillan) and Rory (Darvill) as they find themselves in an extremely precarious situation.

Both Darvill and Gillan are exiting the show after this season and the BBC is expecting huge ratings with the show when it returns to British TV screens later this month.

The British Film Institute event will play host to series seven's debut episode, Asylum of the Daleks, a return of the Doctor's deadliest foe.

The BBC caused a fanboy and girl frenzy on the web with a fresh trailer for the new season during the Olympics last week.

It included glimpses of episode content including a story set in the Wild West and one that sees the Doctor and Amy rock up in Times Square, New York.

Various big names will be out in force for the supporting cast including Alex Kingston, Rupert Graves, Riann Steele and also David Bradley who played Argus Filch in the Harry Potter movies.

The preview aims to give paying audiences a chance to see a small screen phenomenon on the big screen.

Source: Hollywood Reporter 

Also reported by Kasterborous 

 

Karen Gillan and Stanley Weber took a break from filming their new movie Not Another Happy Ending to watch Celtic play Aberdeen in the opening Scottish Premier League game at Celtic Park, Glasgow, on 4 August

Source: Daily Record

Also reported by Digital Spy

Martin Compston: Piggy premiere tickets, and Four review

Front Row Reviews and Flickering Myth are both running competitions to win tickets to the UK première of Piggy - visit the websites for details.

Another review of Four

Scottish actor Martin Compston (‘Sweet Sixteen’, ‘Red Road’) is one of the stars of a taut new thriller – and the Herald has copies to give away.

‘Four’ is being released on DVD by High Fliers on May 7.

The plan is to kidnap your wife’s lover, take him to a remote warehouse – hurt him a little and scare him a lot.

The idea is to keep your hands clean and hire a detective for the dirty work.

Sounds simple? There’s no such thing as simple in this nerve-shredder of a film.

The detective reveals he also has the wife tied up elsewhere in the warehouse. He thinks it’s in the husband’s best interests to confront her as well.

The husband goes along with the plan and the sight of his wife tied to a chair, her head covered with a bag, makes him feel suitably strong and powerful.

However this is no simpering prey. The only thing this woman is unwilling to do is be a victim . . . or lose.

The film also stars Sean Pertwee and Craig Conway.

It’s a darkly comic British thriller packed full of suspense with twists and turns around every corner – building up to a shocking climax.

The Herald has three copies of the film to give away. See this week’s paper for details.

Source: Kirkintilloch Herald

'Scandal' on ABC: exclusive first look at Shonda Rhimes' new drama (VIDEO)

Scandal is a delicious combination of the relationship drama and love troubles we adore in Shonda Rhimes' shows (what's "Grey's Anatomy" without some steamy hookups?), set in the fast-paced world of high-level crisis management and is ripe with plenty of political intrigue.

Rhimes might be best known for her TV medical dramas ("Grey's" and "Private Practice"), but Scandal proves that she can shake up her proven format and still find success. Kerry Washington stars as Olivia Pope, a high-powered D.C.-based "fixer" who has resolved some of the country's biggest scandals. She was the President's communications director and go-to gal, and is now running her own outfit that caters to the who's who of Washington, D.C., and beyond.

We've got an exclusive sneak peek at the show's premiere episode (Thurs., Apr. 5, 10 p.m. ET on ABC) that shows Olivia Pope in action. The biggest takeaway: You don't want to be on the receiving end of a call from Olivia Pope & Associates.

Washington leads a truly stellar cast, which includes several familiar faces from Shondaland: Stephen Finch ("Lost" alum Henry Ian Cusick), the morally ambiguous but brilliant defense attorney; Harrison Wright (Columbus Short), a slick litigator; Huck (Guillermo Diaz), an expert hacker; Abby Whelan (Darby Stanchfield), who's a top investigator with a soft-spot for Stephen; and Quinn Perkins (Katie Lowes), the new girl who, as you'll see in the clip, learns how things are done pretty quickly.

There's also Olivia's friends at the White House, including Cyrus Beene (Jeff Perry, who also plays Meredith and Lexie's dad Thatcher Grey on "Grey's"), the Vice President, played by Kate Burton (Meredith's mom Ellis Grey) and Olivia's former boss, President Fitzgerald Grant, played by Tony Goldwyn.

Source: Huffington Post

 

David Tennant: Pirates, Sport Relief, TV

The Pirates! In an Adventure with Scientists 

As well as attending the première, David Tennant made several radio and TV appearances this week to promote The Pirates! In an Adventure with Scientists, including:

• BBC Radio One Breakfast Show (Wed 21 March)

Read more (including clips of all of David's segments of the show) at David Tennant On Twitter

•  Christian O'Connell Breakfast Show (Wed 21 March)

Read more (including clips) at Absolute Radio 

•  MovieJuice on STV (Friday 23 March)

Watch the interview at STV

'The Pirates! In an Adventure with Scientists' exclusive video
The Pirates! In an Adventure with Scientists has revealed a new video exclusively through Digital Spy.
The teaser clip sees the cast of Aardman's latest animated movie debate the benefits of being a pirate. Looting and cutlasses are at the heart of the argument, which spills over into violence before Hugh Grant's captain breaks up the scuffle.


Grant recently revealed that he was "a bit nervous" about voicing the Pirate Captain, saying that it took him some time to get the vocal intonations right.
"I thought I was timing the jokes right, but I kept thinking whether the voice was basso enough to go with this great big Pirate Captain," he explained.
"So we worked on that a bit. Then watching the stuff, in a way it's soothing because they're so clever with their animation, so much of the humour is in visual stuff, that the pressure felt slightly off me - it doesn't all completely depend on whether I land the line or not. That was helpful."
The Pirates! In an Adventure with Scientists, featuring Salma Hayek, Martin Freeman and David Tennant, opens on March 28 in the UK and on April 27 in the US under the title The Pirates! Band of Misfits.
Source: Digital Spy 

Following the première of The Pirates! In an Adventure with Scientists last week (Wed 21 March), there have been a number of reviews:
Screen Daily
Den of Geek
Skwigly

Sport Relief
After appearing on an advert on television for Sport Relief for the past few weeks, today David Tennant joined thousands of people running a mile for Sport Relief to raise money for charity.

David ran his mile in The Mall in London (near Buckingham Palace) and was interviewed both before and after the race.





Read more at David Tennant on Twitter

 

We Won’t Drop The Baby
This evening (Sunday 25 March) David Tennant provides the voiceover for the documentary which was originally called Disabled Parents: Are You Having A Laugh? before the name was changed to Jokes, Nappies and Wheelchairs but is now called We Won’t Drop The Baby.


The programme focuses on comedian Laurence Clark and his wife (who are both disabled) as they prepare for the birth of their second child.

It will be broadcast on BBC One as part of BBC's Disability Season.
It will be shown at 10.25pm in England, 10.45pm in Northern Ireland and Scotland and at 11.05pm in Wales.
Source: David Tennant on Twitter




Links to this week's other David Tennant news reports can be found here

Scots animated film starring Sir Sean Connery receives international premiere

An animated movie starring the voice of Sir Sean Connery is to premiere at a US film festival next month.

The former James Bond star came out of retirement to play a kilted, skateboarding pensioner in Billi the Vet.

Sir Sean, 81, is also an executive producer on the movie – his first voiceover role – which will debut at the Sonoma International Film Festival near San Francisco.

He plays a retired Highland vet racing to save the last beaver in Scotland.

Sir Billi has been more than six years in the making, starting out as a 20-minute short but now a full-length feature. The film is the brainchild of entrepreneur Tessa Hartmann, who wrote the screenplay, and her husband Sascha, who directed it.

Sir Sean said: “I’m excited to be a part of this incredible film.

“Sir Billi is truly a first-class film, with an exceptional cast and is sure to delight audiences of all ages.

“There’s an incredible amount of work that goes into animated productions and I am delighted that Sascha and his team have completed what has been a labour of love.

“I am thrilled with the final cut.”

Sascha said: “Sir Sean has been incredible. From day one, we knew he was perfect for the role of Sir Billi – being a true Scottish hero and also a grandfather himself.

“No matter how many times I hear his legendary voice on the film, it still gives me a thrill.”

Other stars lending their voices to the film include Alan Cumming, Alex Norton, Ford Kiernan, Greg Hemphill and Ruby Wax.

Welsh singer Dame Shirley Bassey performs the film’s title track Guardian of the Highlands.

The film will be shown at Sonoma on April 13. 

After the red carpet event, there will be VIP dinner with salmon, haggis, Tunnock’s tea cakes, Walkers shortbread and whisky.

Watch an interview and trailer at Daily Record

Kelly MacDonald: Brave and Anna Karenina premieres

Edinburgh will be the movie capital of the world on June 30 when it hosts the European premiere of Disney Pixar’s latest animated blockbuster, Brave. And it’s only fitting, since spectacular fairytale Brave is set in Scotland and features the voices of Billy Connolly, Robbie Coltrane, Craig Ferguson, Kevin McKidd and Kelly Macdonald.

Alex Salmond announced yesterday that Brave, tipped to be as big as Pixar classics Toy Story and Finding Nemo, will get its first European screening when it closes the Edinburgh International Film Festival. Its Scots audience will see it just eight days after its premiere in the States and nearly three weeks before the rest of the UK.

The First Minister said Brave was the most high-profile film ever to have a Scottish theme.

He said the premiere would be “an immense opportunity” to boost Scottish tourism and business, and he forecast that Brave would raise awareness of Scotland all over the world.

VisitScotland have already teamed up with Disney in a £7million campaign – the biggest in the tourism agency’s history – to use the film to promote Scotland as a destination.

Brave tells the story of Princess Merida, voiced by Trainspotting star Kelly, who defies an ancient custom and unleashes chaos in the kingdom.

Billy Connolly plays her dad, King Fergus, with Emma Thompson as Queen Elinor. Robbie and Craig as two nobles, and Julie Walters as a wise woman who advises the young princess.

Brave is the latest in a string of major movies to feature Scotland. Brad Pitt, Daniel Craig, Scarlett Johansson and Halle Berry have all filmed here in recent months.

Source: Daily Record 

Also reported by BBC

Official Brave Site Updated with New Character Downloads

Disney•Pixar has updated the official site for Brave with new character profiles that include downloads for desktops and mobile devices. You can grab them by clicking here or on the image below!

Source: Coming Soon

Anna Karenina

Focus Features will release Anna Karenina in the U.S. on November 9, a couple months after the September UK release.

Jude Law, Aaron Johnson, Kelly Macdonald, Matthew Macfadyen, Domhnall Gleeson, Alicia Vikander, Emily Watson, Olivia Williams, and Ruth Wilson also star in the adaptation of Anna Karenina, directed by Joe Wright (Atonement).   

Here’s the official synopsis:

The story unfolds in its original late-19th-century Russia high-society setting and powerfully explores the capacity for love that surges through the human heart, from the passion between adulterers to the bond between a mother and her children. As Anna (Knightley) questions her happiness, change comes to her family, friends, and community.

Source: Collider

IRVINE WELSH’S ECSTASY U.S. Film Debut

On Friday, March 23, Ultra Music Festival kicks off in the beautiful Bayfront Park of Downtown Miami, and right across the street at the famous MIA lounge, join us for the historic US film debut of IRVINE WELSH’S ECSTASY.

Based on Irvine Welsh’s controversial #1 bestselling book, ecstasy: Three Tales of Chemical Romance, Ecstasy is a twisted tale that explores the euphoric highs and the devastating lows of a chemical romance. Starring Billy Boyd, Adam Sinclair and Kristin Kreuk, the film features sounds from some of the industry’s biggest names including Tiesto & Mark Knight, Paul Oakenfold, Bedrock, Coldplay, Orbital, Primal Scream, Lightfield, and The Mahones. With avid dance music fans and industry elite all descending from 80+ countries, this will be one of the most sought after events of the week.

Enter now for this exclusive “Screening VIP Experience” giveaway on Facebook and possibly enjoy watching the film sitting next to the biggest names in dance. The annual Winter Music Conference | Miami Music Week in Miami Beach hosts more than 500 industry gatherings, performance events, exhibits, seminars and workshops, and boasts one of the most in demand aggregations of legendary and emerging artists to be found in the world, attracting over 1,400 artists each year. The exclusive screening will take place at 6PM in the stunning MIA - (Ultra Lounge), right across the street from where, later in that evening, the highly anticipated New Order performance will take place at the Ultra Music Festival.

This once-in-a-lifetime event will be produced by Creator Entertainment together with Electric Love Foundation, which is dedicated to cancer research and treatment. Irvine Welsh’s Ecstasy releases UK wide on 20th April 2012. Read more at AltSounds
 

Message from the Ecstasy promotional team:

I'm working with Irvine Welsh's "Ecstasy" movie (starring Adam Sinclair and Billy Boyd) which is opening in the UK on April 20th. Here's the trailer and the website for the film.

We're trying to spread the word about a contest we're having (it's open to UK residents only, but we're planning more U.S. contests later). The winner will get two tickets to the premiere in London on April 17th, £2000, two tickets to the VIP afterparty at Ministry of Sound, two nights in a five-star hotel, a limo for two nights, dinner with Irvine Welsh and the cast, a goody bag of signed memorabilia and photos with Irvine and the cast!

The contest link is Ecstasy Movie.

If you follow us (@ecstasymovie) and tweet about our contest we'll follow back!

We really appreciate any help so thank you so much! It's been 10 years since this project was started so we're looking forward to seeing it in theatres. Please let me know if you have any questions and I look forward to hearing from you!

Best, Din

The director of "When The Lights Went Out" talks about his personal connection to the horror story

UK filmmaker Pat Holden (Long Weekend, Awaydays) had a personal reason to tell the story of his Rotterdam world premiere When The Lights Went Out – it was his aunt’s home that was the target of the haunting. “I was about 8 or 9 when it happened,” Holden remembers. “My mum was always around there with the family.”

The film is loosely based on the story of the Black Monk of Pontefract, the true story of a haunting of a working class family in 1970s Yorkshire. Holden says: “It is recognised as the worst case of poltergeist haunting in European history; many people experienced it at first hand; the police, neighbours, relatives, priests — even the local mayor.”

“I grew up with the story, it was a famous thing in the town. I was getting asked about it at school,” he says. “This has been a part of my life for so many years, I’ve been desperate to make a film about it for so long.” He got it made with producers Bil Bungay (Moon) and Deepak Nayar (Bend It Like Beckham).

He didn’t experience the spooky stuff first hand because of his age — “I was never allowed in the house [at the time of the events], I’m sure that was for the best.” But he doesn’t for a moment doubt the story’s authenticity. He tells Screen: “These were staunch Catholics, the idea of them making it up or exaggerating the story wasn’t anything I’ve ever considered. If anyone doubts it, I understand that emotion, but for me there’s never been any doubt in my mind that it happened.”

The film boasts an impressive performance by first-time actress Tasha Connor. “It was a real learning curve for her,” Holden says of the shoot. “By the end of the film, we were calling her ‘One-Take Tasha.’ She was amazing.”

The cast also features Gary Lewis, Kate Ashfield, Steven Waddington, Craig Parkinson, and Martin Compston (pictured above)

The film premiered in Rotterdam  on Thursday and will be screening at Berlin’s EFM.

Read more at Screen Daily